First Moment of Pride

Jim Moss’s daughter takes the first (baby) steps toward independence.

I saw something tonight. Something that I will never get a chance to see again. Certainly not with my daughter Olivia. At first I didn’t realize what I was watching, but it came to me later in the evening.

Olivia, my 22 month old daughter, experienced real pride in herself tonight. She literally celebrated herself. Her own accomplishment, and she understood in some primitive way what she was feeling. She called to me, because she was with my wife at the time, and she said “Daddy, I pee’d, I pee’d.” Silly right? Cute and silly?

She was carrying her training seat with her like a trophy and waiving it in the air. Telling me, wasn’t the moment, it was when she turned back and forth in the hallway and she was so pleased with herself. Obviously she immediately told her mother and I to get the praise that she deserved but more importantly, for a very brief moment she was totally pleased with herself . She experienced one of a few milestones where a young child takes a tiny step towards independence. It seems silly. As an adult we take this for granted, obviously, but our next really important moment relating to peeing, will be when we can’t do it on our own anymore. Shortly after that they put a diaper back on us.

I love you little Livy bird, you made me very proud tonight, but more importantly you learned a little about what pride feels like for yourself. Thank you because now I understand my role as a father a little better; to protect that in you, teach you it isn’t silly at all, and now that you have found it, to ensure that nobody ever tries to take it away from you.

About Jim Moss

Father of two and Husband, Hall of Fame professional athlete, West Nile, H1N1 and Guillaine Barre survivor. Forced to relearn how to walk, Jim now stays home with his kids and is applying to do MSc Psychology. He spends his time studying Empathy and Altruism and their roles in our health. Visit him on Tumblr